Unsurprisingly, he dreamed in his slumber.
It felt like he was watching a slideshow, still images flashing through his mind slowly, almost taunting him in a sense. He saw his old friend Steve get knocked out by a devastating punch, a shot of Vision's stone being ripped out from his forehead ruthlessly, the metal in Rhodey's suit being contracted, his eyes widening in fear, and all the other Avengers being dispatched in a similar fashion, like ants. For a moment, he wondered if Thanos had decided to get in his head one last time with the Mind Stone.
He didn't cast out the possibility right away, as he got the impression that this was a nightmare he wouldn't be able to wake up from. After all, he and Thanos had been in each other's minds for the past six years, what's another few moments to him? But he also knew that his own mind was extremely susceptible to imagining such scenes playing out.
The images flickered out eventually, and he found himself at a dinner table, the love of his life sitting adjacent to him.
"Pepper?" he spoke feverishly, the one word filled with uncertainty.
"Oh, finally stopped 'thinking', huh?" the woman teased.
He shook his head. "I've done enough of that to last a lifetime," he replied wearily, before forcing a smile.
"Good, then maybe we can finally enjoy the night for once," motioning towards the unopened red champagne, her eyebrows wiggling.
They opened the bottle, pouring the fine drink into their glasses, toasting before heading over to the couch.
They talked carefreely, musing about other members of the team, events around the world, and rumors of other companies looking to exploit Stark Industries. A pointless, free flowing conversation that really had no mettle to it, until a certain topic came up.
"So I was thinking of names, does Tony Jr. sound a little too extravagant for you? I mean, seems like a big burden to put on the kid, having to carry on that mantle," he could tell the alcohol was starting to kick in; she had always been a light drinker.
"I don't know," he said slowly, shaking his head, reaching to touch her belly. "Just the thought of it Pep, it's beyond what my mind can comprehend right now."
"Well I figured I'd ask, since after all," she paused, "he'll be growing up without a daddy."
His mind wasn't able to comprehend these words either.
She smirked now, a pitying look in her eye. "Look at you, making all these upgrades, going so far and yet still so woefully unprepared for what's to come."
"I suppose it was going to happen sooner or later…" she trailed off, her eyes fixated on the wall.
And there was the Titan crashing through, the completed Infinity Gauntlet in his grasp, condemning him to his cruel fate. He felt himself slipping away as the stones began to glow, the energy burning his skin at such close proximity.
"You never were strong enough…" she said almost sadly, her voice then turning cold. "It's better this way."
Before the final blow was struck, the Titan smiled and spoke once more, cupping his head in his hand again, "Surrender Stark."
The words echoed through him, like a shockwave, as he heard his name again, and again… and again… and again. He moved to close his ears but couldn't, his hands incapacitated. It took all his willpower to close his eyes, begging his mind to release him from this.
It's not real, it's not real… he thought, hoping against hope itself that the mantra would free him.
After the meeting, the remainder of Wakandan and Avenger leadership alike dispersed as they faced a small fraction of the consequences of Thanos's snap in bringing the distraught Wakandan civilians back into the city from multiple evacuation points. The people were befrazzled and in disarray, but still alert enough to walk back
Thor's heart ached for the Wakandan kingdom's losses in particular, having had his being reduced from a planet to a spaceship to merely survivors at this point in escape pods in just a matter of days. Days, surely it couldn't have been so short ago.
He noticed that the woman from the meeting—the Queen—seemed… off, he had seen her look in his eyes some time ago. A strong, determined front for the people to not lose the last of their faith and sanity, but beneath it, he could sense she was moments away from breaking down herself. It was all in the eyes. He did not hesitate in doing what he did next, walking over to put a calming hand on her shoulder, royalty aiding royalty.
She glanced up at him. "Hello Asgardian, I don't believe we've met face to face yet," the Queen said.
"No we haven't. Thor, King of Asgard," he replied, realizing now how impulsive he had just been, walking over to the Queen and offering comfort as a stranger. "My apologies, I was overstepping there, your highness." He removed his hand but didn't just leave yet, joining her in seeing what was left of Wakanda be escorted back to the city.
She turned to him, a thin smile protruding her face. "No need for apologies now, it's important that we continue to work together through this," she said, before extending her hand to him. "Ramonda, former Queen of Wakanda."
"Former, eh? You appear to be doing a good job right now, guiding your people through this," he said, many civilians looking up to the woman. "You're just what they need right now, a strong, unwavering presence to calm the storm." Hopefully not mine, he thought.
She nodded in thanks to the words. "Thank you," she began. "It's just that here we determine our next king by our own ritual, a challenge system if you will, so the heir is not necessarily passed down through bloodlines. But things are so frantic right now… all five tribes agreed that a challenge for the throne was the last thing we needed, so I'm left in charge."
Thor was intrigued by this challenge ritual, anyone being to able to vie for the crown, much unlike Asgard where the Odinson family had never been usurped. He fought his way out of thought however, as the sadness in her tone was evident.
"I'm sorry for the losses you suffered," he started, trying to make the consolation he gave her sound less hollow than he had imagined in his mind. "Your people are lucky to have a morally staunch leader like you in a time like this."
"While I don't believe a people are limited by their leader's attitude," she said, nodding to his words, "this is where we have to be the example to carry the people out of the darkness, their eyes will all be on figures like Okoye, M'Baku, and myself right now, looking for some sort of help. We have to maintain composure and order for everyone's sake."
"The people are in good hands," Thor said almost musingly, hesitating for a moment at what he wanted to say. "But speaking for their leader, how are you and your family managing yourselves? I… I know from experience it's never easy."
Ramonda sighed, a sign that the situation wouldn't be easy to handle. "Shuri… she's taking it harder than everyone else, when Okoye broke the news to her, she completely broke down," she told him, as Thor recalled the tech savvy girl at the lab. "I cried out a lot myself, I shouldn't expect different from her, I can tell she's still reeling. She's growing to be her own woman, but she is still only a teenager at this point."
"Where is she now?" Thor figured he would look for signs on the girl for the Queen.
"In her lab with Dr. Banner, trying to preoccupy herself with work, it's how she copes."
"I'll keep an eye on her, take care Ramonda," he said, patting her on the shoulder once more before beginning to walk back to the main building.
She nodded, the last of the civilians having been evacuated from the site.
"Are you sure this will work?" Bruce asked, eyeing the device the two of them had spent the last hour or so creating and then modifying.
"Of course," Shuri replied with total confidence. Banner enjoyed her company, she was a girl invigorated by the unknown, a master at utilizing the vibranium she had on hand, and always kept him on his toes whether through her intellect or humor. "It may only be a prototype, but it should give us a preliminary reading on his location."
"How accurate are we talking about here?"
"The first reading should at least pinpoint which galaxy he's in, but he has to use the stones and their immense energy for that."
Bruce shook his head. "I don't know, Shuri, it seems like a long shot."
Shuri laughed. "Oh come on Dr. Banner, for all you've learned while obtaining your 7 PhD's, you seem to have to forgotten the course about pushing the boundaries, exploring the impossible. Even if it's a long shot, it's still better than the shot we had before."
"Alright, I'll concede to that," he said, raising his hands as he finished programming the system. "You finished on your end?"
"Yes, I've just been making improvements to the design to help the system learn quicker," she replied with a smirk. "Now if we're ready to begin, we-"
"Nice to see you two getting along," Steve's voice rang out as he stepped in the lab. "I shouldn't be very surprised though."
Bruce smiled as he looked around the lab for the umpteenth time, shaking his head in wonder. "Steve, it's all just… so incredible. Their technology must be centuries ahead of ours. The efficiency of these designs are off the charts, it puts my stuff to shame. Getting to use this stuff to me is like handing a kid the keys to Disneyland."
"Well I was never one for modesty-" Shuri began.
"Tell me about it," Bruce chuckled.
"But your designs are quite impressive, considering the resources you've had at hand. I consider myself just fortunate to have access to all this, it really accelerated my learning," she finished.
Steve nodded, his eyes settling on the machine that Bruce and Shuri had been working on. It was good to see some teamwork already in session, even if he didn't understand what it was they were working on. "How's it coming along?" he asked.
Bruce jumped in to explain, something like awe in his voice. "It's a device we've been working on that should be able to track traces of energy quantities throughout the universe. We think if Thanos uses the Infinity Stones again, we might be able to narrow down his location given the sheer amount of energy those things exert. We're also just keeping our eyes peeled for other high energy sources, maybe something we can use to gain an advantage down the road. Anyway, I'm rambling, and you get enough of that on a daily basis."
"Right, you two keep working on that," Steve said with a nod. "If there's even the slimmest of chances we could find Thanos with it, it'll be worth the time and effort."
"Actually, we are all done with putting our time and effort into it," Shuri told him, pressing a start-up button. "Now we simply monitor the device as it searches for these energy quantities being released."
"That easy?" Cap asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Oh no, it is a very tedious process. The device only picks up traces of the energy exerted outside of Earth, but I've programmed the system accordingly so that it only gives me readings of sources with a certain energy to distance ratio to narrow down the options. Not to mention, the AI in the machine will have to learn in time what kind of energy it's detecting, and not to forget its range is limited for now," Shuri concluded, receiving a look from Bruce in response to her last statement.
"What, it's true! Vibranium is an incredible metal with an almost endless number of capabilities, but even it has its limits. It would take eons for this device to account for every significant energy source in this vast, expanding universe. But I know that's not why you came here, Captain," she said.
Steve looked to the teenager, impressed. "She's pretty good at this," he said to Bruce, who nodded while trying to contain a laugh.
"I just wanted to inform you guys that we're going to be sending a PR team out to the press, maybe have a meeting with the UN about this. Me and Rhodey are going for sure, and Nat's going to let me kn-" he was cut off by a beeping.
The three rushed over to the device, discovering with surprise that the energy reading came from Earth, in what looked to be San Francisco.
Bruce looked over at Steve, confused. "You know anyone who was planning to fire a nuke in San Fran? Because that's one of the energy sources we told the device to scan for here on Earth, unless it was something else. Like something with enough energy to cause a citywide power outage."
He shook his head. "No, the only person we know who lives there is Scott, and I don't see how he could've caused a disturbance that big. Not to mention, it seems he's…" he trailed off, both of them knowing of Scott's fate.
"Whatever it is, it's an energy source big enough to get on our radar," he said, turning to Shuri. "Could you get us a reading on that?"
"Working on it," the tech inclined girl replied, pulling up holographic camera feeds of San Francisco onto the wall. "These are all the feeds of the city we have access to."
There were no visible signs of an explosion or any massive energy source, just harried people running to their homes, riots in the street, and a high number of crashed cars and wreckage throughout the city. "That's odd," Shuri muttered, looking bewildered for the first time. "Unless…"
"Unless it's what, Shuri? Something underground? Maybe just a high power surge?" Banner suggested.
"No, this is something completely foreign to our world, a concept I thought no one could have perfected at this time. Even my knowledge on it is limited."
"What is it?" Steve asked, as Shuri's device was also frantically searching for the source of the energy.
"It's something subatomic. Quantum."
Another emergency meeting was held, only this time Okoye, M'Baku, and Ramonda weren't present since they had the task of putting their people back at ease. Bruce figured they wouldn't miss much and that the science would only bore them anyway. That left the remaining Avengers, Shuri, and Rocket, who tagged along because he had nowhere else to go.
"Thanks for coming on such short notice guys," Bruce said, holding a clicker for the slideshow he had whipped together for the meeting. Since he was the group's 'expert' on everything quantum, he had the task of explaining the concept to them all.
"Why are we here again?" Rocket asked, shaking his head.
"Because we're going to discuss something that could be the key to beating Thanos," he replied, and this certainly piqued everyone's interest. At least he was going to have an attentive audience for a few more minutes than expected.
"Now this is the quantum realm. Or at least a picture of what we think it looks like based on theory. The quantum realm is an entirely different microverse, a miniature universe within our own. It has its own rules about space and time that even I'm not very clear on right now. Any laws of physics that exist, everything you know about this world, it'll all be probably thrown out the window there."
"Until now, we thought that no one ever had access to the quantum realm," Bruce continued, pressing the clicker. "Until the Ant-Man, Scott Lang, we believe. To enter the quantum realm, you'd have to go subatomic and shrink between molecules and atoms themselves, which the Ant-Man is certainly capable of. Shrinking I mean, based on your guys' experience." The other Avengers nodded.
"He and his two known associates, Hope Van Dyne and Hank Pym, who worked for SHIELD until his resignation in 1989, were on the run in San Francisco from FBI until recently. Now I tried digging through some SHIELD files to see when Pym had mastered this phenomenon, but his were wiped from the system entirely."
Thor raised his hand almost in jest as Bruce finished talking. "Listen, this is a great story and all Banner, but how is this going to help us defeat Thanos?" the God inquired.
"Well that last part won't help, I just wanted to give more background on Scott," he admitted. "But I can tell you, the quantum realm holds immense power. Our device over there which tracks energy disturbances was going haywire when it found the source of the quantum energy in San Francisco. Based on the results, Shuri and I think that he's been transporting quantum energy back to the real world. That would explain why he wasn't answering his phone earlier."
"Okay," Natasha responded, before Rocket could make another sarcastic quip. "Where does this leave us?"
"We think that the quantum energy has a great deal of potential. If harnessed, it could compare to the power of Infinity Stone to some degree, or maybe even give people augmented powers," Banner explained.
"What kind of powers are we talking about here?" Steve inquired, his mind still processing the information given.
Shuri cut in. "We don't know right now. Healing powers, genetic mutation, the good kind I presume, abilities to travel the realms with ease? Should the quantum energy be truly that powerful, I suspect it could do all this and more. Given what we know so far, I think it's fair to make these kinds of assumptions."
With that, Banner turned to the group as a whole, and as expected, he was met with several skeptical looks and murmurs of curiosity. He knew he would need to give them one final push to get them on board; it was time to appeal to the group's sense of morality, rather than continuing to explain about a mystical realm that they had no concrete proof even existed.
"Look guys, I know it sounds ridiculous," he began, opting to lay out the plan at once, exposition be damned. "Worst case scenario, we can locate Scott and pick up another person for the fight. I don't think there's anyone else who could've caused this disturbance. But if we're right about this, then we could unlock an entire new dimension and use its resources to tip the scales in our favor a bit. It's low risk, high reward."
This finally persuaded the group, if only just barely. Rhodes remained silent as he had for the whole meeting, but there was a glimmer of understanding in his eyes as he nodded slightly to Bruce. Natasha seemed to agree more begrudgingly, a worried look reaching her face, but she didn't protest. Thor seemed to contemplate the information before giving a eh, why the hell not? shrug. Rocket crossed his arms with a scowl on his face, but that to be expected of the raccoon at this point. Finally, Steve spoke up, just like their last meeting a few hours ago.
"It wouldn't hurt to do some recon," Cap acknowledged before walking over to him. "Bring him back if you can find him, if what you're saying is true, Scott could be a real game changer."
"Wait, you want me to go?!" Bruce half exclaimed, half questioned.
"Seeing that you seem to know the most of this stuff out of us all, I'd say you're the only candidate. Quantum physics was never my major," he said with a chuckle.
"Be careful out there, Banner," Thor said next, pulling him into a hug, "I expect you to be back by tomorrow evening, no exceptions."
"Becoming King of Asgard really made you feel like you have to watch over everyone now, huh?" he replied, shaking his head.
"Just a bit," the God admitted.
"Shuri, just so I can accommodate Thor's deadline, do you think you can get me a jet? Preferably a fast one with cloaking, I'd like to return it in one piece," Banner said, giving Thor a tilted look.
"Let me see what the hangar has to offer," the girl sprung to her feet, racing down the hallway.
Rhodey shook his head in amusement at the sight, speaking for the first time. "That young lady really does run everything here, doesn't she?"
No one contested this claim as the meeting ended, each individual headed off to do their own thing.
Bruce was taken to an aircraft carrier port, as Shuri and a Wakandan pilot—well, mainly Shuri—explained how to operate the vehicle. The sleek, aerodynamic jet was basking out in the receding sunlight as nightfall loomed. Most of the instructions had flown right by him, and since Shuri wasn't one to repeat her words, he had almost tuned out of the tutorial altogether. It didn't help that there seemed to be a plethora of levers, switches, and handles at his disposal. Thankfully there was an autopilot, and he was told that a lot of the features were for combat situations.
For now, he knew how to depress triggers to launch missiles at hostiles, steer and (shakily) pilot the jet in case of trouble, and activate the cloaking. That would have to suffice for now. He was surprised they were letting him fly without a guide, but Shuri explained to him they could remotely access and control the internal systems of the vehicle for him should anything fail.
"Oh and Dr. Banner," Shuri told him as she walked away. "Someone requested to see you before you left."
A side door to the aircraft garage opened, revealing Black Widow strolling down the runway towards him. As she approached, he noticed Shuri and the pilot acknowledge her before they walked away, giving the two their space.
"Hi," she said.
"Why is it that I'm getting déjà vu?" he cracked, pulling her into a hug, relieved that there was no one around them this time around.
She shrugged, trying to play it off. "It's been a few years, just have to… adjust a bit under these new circumstances."
"Yeah, it's been tough," he said, sighing as he thought back to the hazy cloud his last two years were shrouded in. "But we're all doing our best Nat, and right now this is the best thing I can do, like Cap said, we're gonna have to play the long game here."
"I know," she said, her gaze understanding. "I didn't come to talk you out of this."
Well, she did always like to keep people guessing. "So, why did you?" he asked, looking at her curiously.
"To tell you that you look like utter crap," the agent responded, not a hint of sarcasm anywhere. Bruce blinked twice. "I'm serious, when was the last time you slept?" The concerned look she had shown during the meeting returned, as the sagging skin and dark spots were clear under his eyes.
"I don't remember, probably when I was the Hulk," he said, trying not to think back to the control issues he and his alter ego had.
Her voice softened. "How is the big guy?"
"Really, really pricky right now. A bigger baby than usual," Bruce said, letting out a sigh of frustration. "Hasn't come out since he fought Thanos and we needed him, but didn't let me out for the past two years. I'd say we have issues, but I think we're working it out a bit. We can talk about it another time though…" He trailed off there, unsure what else to say. She clearly didn't either, and he hoped this wasn't what was going to be left of their relationship: a spark here and there, but nothing left to truly rekindle.
"Just be safe out there, okay?" she said after a prolonged silence. "We just got you back, and you're already cracking down to business like nothing happened. Don't wear yourself out, we need you."
And with that, she rested her hand upon his shoulder, looking at him eye to eye for a few brief moments before turning away. Bruce looked to her in confusion, unable to think of anything to say as she walked down the small runway. Better to say nothing at all.
Whatever it was that was between them, he decided, it would have to wait. How long, he didn't know, but he hoped that there could at least be something to salvage in the end. He boarded the small aircraft, quickly moving to the pilot's chambers as he began booting up the system. Shuri had already set the coordinates for the source of the outburst of quantum energy, informing him the system would automatically update should the location shift.
He allowed the autopilot to run, watching the skyline for a few minutes, as the piloting system informed him he would arrive in San Francisco in five hours if he continued traveling at his current speed. He told the plane's systems to wake him once it had reached America, from there he would activate the cloaking. It was going to be a decently long ride and he didn't mind.
For the first time in days, Bruce Banner let himself be consumed by sleep.
When Thor knocked on the door of Steve Rogers's room, he walked into a scene very much like he had imagined: Him and Rhodey going over what to say for the media press conference they would hold in two days from now. The Asgardian was glad that interviews and social media were never prevalent during his days on Asgard; he would've made a mockery of himself with either outlandish claims or by insulting others, especially in his younger days.
"Ah ha, good to see you two hard at work," There was a spark in his eyes as he spoke, twinkling with mischief.
"It gets tiresome," Rhodes flipped through some news reports, scribbling down information. "Looking for the right thing to say, trying to avoid the media twisting your words, always under the scrutiny of the camera. I've never been a fan of it, preferred to stick behind the scenes and seal things with a handshake."
"Well, you are going to have Public Enemy Number One with you, from what I've heard," Thor told him, pointing to Steve. "I wouldn't fret too much given how attention he's going to draw."
At this, the former Captain America smiled sadly and stood up, thinking about how drastically things had changed for him so fast, from worldwide hero to wanted fugitive of the law. Thor's words hit him hard just because of how true they were; all eyes were going to be on him, and him alone.
"Rhodey didn't tell them I'll be showing," he said quietly, Thor giving him a stunned look. "They would never let us in if we announced my presence, so to start it'll just be him, and we'll go from there. I'm not really one for dramatic entrances, but... first time for everything."
"I'm sorry, Rogers," Thor began, his second apology in a matter of an hour. He could see the hurt on the war veteran's face as he spoke. "Doing so much for your people and standing for what you believe is right and being outlawed for that… Earth in a nutshell it seems, the people seem to always live in the moment."
Steve smiled at the god, he seemed to have changed over the past two years. And with it, he could tell there was a new sense of humility and caring for others, likely from having to protect his own people.
"So, why are you here anyway?" War Machine cleared his throat as he spoke, breaking the two men out of thought. "It was a hell of a speech, remind me to use that when I go to the UN."
"Oh, well there's a question I can answer at least," Thor replied. "This place is just too damn big, figured I'd ought to stick with the ones I know, maybe catch up a bit, or-"
His voice was interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone. Steve's eyes widened in surprise, lunging to grab the phone.
"Only one person has this number," his voice became resolute at this statement, before he pressed the 'Accept Call' icon, Thor and Rhodey leaning in.
"Hello?" he said softly, almost imperceptible.
"Steve… I'm glad I found you," the voice of Tony Stark was no doubt there, coughing as he spoke, strained but still audible as the three men. "Tried Pep… hospitals are failing, wh-where are you?"
"Wakanda, Tony! Wakanda! We're getting you coordinates right now, hang on," Steve said, Rhodey scrambling to send the location.
"Always… always cou-could on you," he said, sounding more out of it. "Pu-putting you through now."
"Sent the coordinates! Hey Tony, Tony!" Rhodes yelled into the phone. "Anthony Edward Stark, do you hear me, you do not have permission to die yet, understood?" he was determined to give his childhood friend a reason to survive, no matter how badly he had been hurt.
"You have always been a stubborn man Stark, dying isn't something stubborn people do!" Thor said, echoing Rhodes's sentiment.
"He hears you, and we've got it," a cold female voice responded, sounding almost like one of Tony's AIs, but not quite. There was too much emotion contained within the voice. "We're on our way now."
And then the call ended, leaving the three heroes perplexed as to just who else Tony had gotten himself involved with that day.
A/N: Appreciate all the reviews from last chapter, they really pushed me to go forward with this chapter earlier than I had planned. Hope you guys enjoyed this entry as well, idk why I focused on Banner so much, it just kind of happened. I did my best to have the resident scientists to explain the quantum realm in a convoluted yet understandable manner, hopefully I accomplished my goal. If you enjoyed the wackiness and big words used, be sure to do all that following and reviewing stuff that supports me and whatnot and actually makes me want to write. Thanks for reading!
We'll get some Scott and Hope next chapter, no need to fret. Just didn't quite have time to put them in here, the chapter exceeding 5,000 words as it is. Well, until next update,
-BasketballIsFun